Milwaukee EMS

[ToDaMax]

If you want the facts on EMS, read on. If you dont, skip to the question i have at the bottom

Milwaukee County EMS runs on the Motorolla Type II Smartnet, with 11 Channels - Techinally they are talkgroups, not channels, but I just like to call them channels. 8 of the channels are Paitent Information channels, used to relay information from the ambulance to the Medical base so the Med Base can relay it to the hospital the ambulance is heading to. These channels are assigned to the ambulance as they are heading to the closest hospital that is not on divert. These channels also are used for 12-leads, which are not radio related, and can also be used as a means of communication with a doctor to provide Emergency ALS if the drive to the hospital cannot wait.

Milwaukee County Medical Base, or just Med base, is a second command that paramedics must report to, in addition to thier own area dispatch. Med base has their own channel that paramedics repond to when they go on a run. When an ambulance says they are going on a run, Med base will indicate which hospitals are on divert. Divert means that the hospital will not accept any incoming emergency patients and that they must find another hospital to go to. The med channel the main channel where med base assigns paitent information channels or to relay basic information or questions.

2 Channels that are rarely used are the EMS Base (Different form Med base) and Unit-to-Unit. The U-2-U channel is hardly ever, if even used. What it is for, i dont know. The EMS Base is rarely used, but i belive it is used for flight for life.

Thats what i know for anyone who wants to know. If you have any additional info, by all means, add it in. Now my question is out of curiosity. Is the Med base a separate entity, tied into each individual hospital, or tied into each Paramedic Company Station? This leads to my main question. Where is Med Base located, if it is separately located?

 

[OpSec]

First, your use of nomenclature does need to be corrected. To use the word "channel" when describing talkgroups is improper and can potentially be misleading to others that are not totally knowledgable about how TRS' work or what the proper terms are.

As for your question, if you are referring to the ALS "Paramedic Base" then I believe they are still located at Froedtert. Whether or not the BLS operations are handled out of Froedtert or not, I do not know. I have been to Paramedic base several times over the years, and have seen much of their old Centracom-based communications consoles, some of which is still on the air in some capacity in other places.

 

[ScanWI]

The U-2-U and Med base are going to be used more if there is a large indecent requiring several Ambulances. That is about all we used them for in Minnesota anyways.

 

[mkescan]

The EMS Base talkgroup you mentioned is called Milwaukee County EMS.
It's mainly used when a suburban fire department has requested Flight for Life.
Flight will usually call them and give a ETA, and say if they are still on the pad or in the air.
When in the air flight will let them know and command or "LZ" will tell flight where they will be landing and give some patient info. Sometimes Flight will use County EMS to give "EMS Com"( the same people as Med units talk to) some patient info or say they are xx minutes from the pad and hot or cold off load.

Some Waukesha County ALS & BLS units also have this talkgroup and will use it when transporting to a Milwaukee area hospital and ask for a patch to that hospital.

Sometimes you might hear a BLS from a Milwaukee County FD on it if they are having problem with the UHF radio.
That unit to unit is rarely used, I only heard it used when Froedtert. was moving some stuff to new locations.

 

[WISCOMM]

12-Lead Data is feed on UHF MED channels, not on the TRS. EMS Communications assigns the MED unit a channel to transmit the data. This info is sent using either a Motorola XTS3000 portable or a ICOM Mobile that is dedicated to data.

Craig

 

[70cutlass442]

Wow, this is completely different then Waukesha county. Waukesha hospitals all have their own "med base" which is usually a charge nurse in the ER. We use it to let them know we are coming in and relay vitals or other pertinent info. Does anybody know if there are any VHF channels still in use to contact hospitals in milwaukee? We still have maxtracs that have MRMC and a few other hospitals listed.

 

[OpSec]

The largest reason the UHF MED channels were so heavily used in Milwaukee county was the inception of paramedic/ALS units back in the 70's, starting with MED 1 in West Allis. As far as I know, all the MED units belong to full-time departments, and the entire EMS program in the county is pretty busy.

Waukesha county is mostly volly and was late to the paramedic/ALS party, even though the county is larger and has more departments. There was no need to establish the UHF MED channel overlay in the county when the VHF HEAR channels covered the needs just fine. Now the trunked hospital talkgroups for each hospital serve the same purpose.

 

[ToDaMax]

The Med Units in the county are either Private EMS-Basic Companies like Bell, or they are incorperated into the fire department. City of Milwaukee Ambulances are Paramedic and all surrounding communities have thier own setup on what MED units are BLS and ALS. This is what i have heard, at least.All Med units use Milwaukee County's TRS and the 11 EMS Talkgroups, regardless of where they come from (Private or County).

The traffic is very variable. There will be days that it will be buzzing with reports and calls, and there will be days when there are long periods of time where nothing is said. Some days, you hear nothing but BLS assignments, but you do find those days where ALS assignments are being called out or even 10-99s being called - parametics declaring a victim biologically dead, usually after a failed attempt to revive them. One day i heard only 4 or 5 paitient information statuses in 3 hours. Another day (Which was today), i heard an ALS call and 2 10-99s in less than 30 minutes.
Very Variable

 

[a1emt]

All Med units use Milwaukee County's TRS and the 11 EMS Talkgroups, regardless of where they come from (Private or County).

Young man, I admire your enthusiasm for the topic...

there are NO Private ambulances on the County TRS. Only the Fire-Based MED units.

LOL... I like the "Very Variable" line... many days on the med unit are like that that's what keeps it exciting... and tiring...

 

[ToDaMax]

You are correct. I wasn't paying attention when i was typing. I am not certain how private companies communicate to hospitals - probably through thier own company lines - but they dont use Milwaukee County TRS, and only County Fire-Based Med Units use MCTRS like you said.

I love how much enthusiasm i have for EMS talk. If anyone wants to know why, here are reasons:

1) I work as a lifegarud for Milwaukee County (First Responder), so I understand Patient Info more than the average person, athough not as much as those who are EMS trained. As you said before, it is exciting and unpredicatlbe (although it can get old if all you hear is
"Cheif Complaint: Trouble Breathing" and other BLS type calls.

2) I once heard my dad being taken to the hospital when i was going to work one day. If anyone hears thier own address being called out for a Med call, it would send anyone into an OMGWTF. Then I heard my dad's vitals as he went to the hospital, at it hits harder when you understand how bad they were (BP was 180/P when normal is 120/P and Blood Glucose level at 190 when healthy is 117). I am not going into my dad's medical records, but all i will say is he died that night (RIP dad), I saw it comming, and i dont need sympathy anymore, becuase that was a while ago.

Anyway, those are two main reasons i love listening to EMS, if ya wanted to know

 

[OpSec]

The Med Units in the county are either Private EMS-Basic Companies like Bell, or they are incorperated into the fire department. City of Milwaukee Ambulances are Paramedic and all surrounding communities have thier own setup on what MED units are BLS and ALS. This is what i have heard, at least.All Med units use Milwaukee County's TRS and the 11 EMS Talkgroups, regardless of where they come from (Private or County).

Part of the problem here is one of nomenclature.

The term "Med unit" refers to a fire department-operated paramedic unit only. The term is not interchangable with BLS and/or private EMS providers.

The paramedic units in Milwaukee County are labled from MED 1 though MED 1x, in the order of their creation, which is why WAFD's paramedic unit is called Med 1.

You are correct that the paramedic units all use MCTRS, but no private EMS providers are on the TRS. They can use the VHF or UHF channels to speak to the hospital while en route.

 

[k9rzz]

I listen to the MED channels quite a bit. Helps keep tabs on what the neighbors are up to. :^]

Q: When Paramedic Base gives the patient info to the appropriate hospital, do they do that by phone? or online some how? I'm sure the operator is typing the vitals and what not into some sort of database as he hears it on the radio.

 

[70cutlass442]

I listen to the MED channels quite a bit. Helps keep tabs on what the neighbors are up to. :^]

Q: When Paramedic Base gives the patient info to the appropriate hospital, do they do that by phone? or online some how? I'm sure the operator is typing the vitals and what not into some sort of database as he hears it on the radio.

In Waukesha county, when I call a med base at a hospital, its typically by phone. However, we do have two radios in the back, one is on the waukesha county trunked system, each hospital in the County has its own Talk group. We also have a VHF because thats what we used to use, and as far as I know, the Hospitals still monitor the Med channels since many other departments outside of the county still run VHF. When we call either via phone or radio, we talk to either a charge nurse or an ED tech. We give them age/sex/nature of incident/mechanism of injury (if applicable) vitals/ any pertinent medical history if needed/ current interventions (oxygen, drug therapy, immobilized? ect.) That usually covers it, but its not uncommon fo them to ask a few extra questions based on what you just gave them. Usually its all written on a form they have specifically for phone/radio reports so they can anticipate what will be needed upon arrival and gear up for that. As per HIPPA rules, we cant use names or other identifiers over the radio, in that case we must use a phone. We also use radios/phones to request the use of drugs, in that instance we are connected to a Dr. In the ED that we are headed to, and under his direction, administer the drugs.... hope this answers your question!

 

[Spankymedic7]

Milwaukee County EMS

1) MED Base relays patient info via phone...that's it. Nothing fancy.
2) There ARE private "MED" (Paramedic) units, although they do not communicate with MED base. Each private service has their own medical control accesible through pre-established means (radio, phone, etc.). The term "MED" stands for "Mobile Emergency Department".
3) MED Base is not affiliated with any hospital nor EMS provider, they are the sole communications hub for the county paramedic system.
4) BLS Squads (EMT units) communicate with area EDs via two frequencies, "EMS North"-462.950, and "EMS South"-462.975. There is PLENTY of traffic on these frequencies.

I am an EMT-P with 20 years experience, 13 with Milwaukee County EMS. My brother-in-law is an FF/EMT-I, and is a communicator for MED Base, so I always have the inside scoop. Let me know if there are any other questions I can help answer.

73-

 

[70cutlass442]

1) MED Base relays patient info via phone...that's it. Nothing fancy.
2) There ARE private "MED" (Paramedic) units, although they do not communicate with MED base. Each private service has their own medical control accesible through pre-established means (radio, phone, etc.). The term "MED" stands for "Mobile Emergency Department".
3) MED Base is not affiliated with any hospital nor EMS provider, they are the sole communications hub for the county paramedic system.
4) BLS Squads (EMT units) communicate with area EDs via two frequencies, "EMS North"-462.950, and "EMS South"-462.975. There is PLENTY of traffic on these frequencies.

I am an EMT-P with 20 years experience, 13 with Milwaukee County EMS. My brother-in-law is an FF/EMT-I, and is a communicator for MED Base, so I always have the inside scoop. Let me know if there are any other questions I can help answer.

73-

Awesome info! it appears that Waukesha and Milwaukee counties are quite different in the way PT info is sent to the hospitals. Quick questions for you.

1. Does the med base then contact the individual hospital and relay the pt info to them?
2. We still have a VHF maxtrac in each of our ambulances that have several Waukesha hospitals, as well as MRMC. Do you know who answers that VHF channel (is it even used anymore)
3. Has Milwaukee ever used VHF for medical related comms? or is the VHF system just used for other places outside of the county that may have to bring in a PT?

 

[Spankymedic7]

Hey there 70Cutlass442,

In reference to your questions...

1) Yes, MED Base relays pt info to target E.D.
2) By VHF channel, I assume you're referring to HEAR Hospital Emergency Adminsitrative Radio (155.340), I believe MED Base does answer inbound EMS units coming in from out-of-county, as this frequency is all they have when they travel outside of their respective jurisdiction.
3) Milwaukee Co EMS does not use VHF, other than mentioned in #2.

You are absolutely correct, Milwaukee and Waukesha Counties are different in terms of EMS communications. Pinellas County, FL EMS (where I used to work back in 2002-2003) is set up much like Milwaukee County in terms of EMS comms. The MCO (Medical Control Operator) patches the EMS units DIRECTLY to the ED of their choice, versus taking the info and then relaying it. This makes much more sense, as it is a HIGH VOLUME system, and one MCO can not handle all of the traffic even if they wanted to. As for MD consults, that's run a bit differently. If I needed an MD consult, we are patched through to an EMS physician via radio. There is an EMS doc on duty 24/7, each carries an HT with him/her, and they will answer calls as needed. They will do scene response on the rare occassion too. All-in-all, Pinellas County EMS is a high volume, but VERY efficient EMS system.

I'm getting long-winded. Hope this helps!

73-

 

[70cutlass442]

QUOTE=Spankymedic7;1408952]Hey there 70Cutlass442,

In reference to your questions...

1) Yes, MED Base relays pt info to target E.D.
2) By VHF channel, I assume you're referring to HEAR Hospital Emergency Adminsitrative Radio (155.340), I believe MED Base does answer inbound EMS units coming in from out-of-county, as this frequency is all they have when they travel outside of their respective jurisdiction.
3) Milwaukee Co EMS does not use VHF, other than mentioned in #2.

You are absolutely correct, Milwaukee and Waukesha Counties are different in terms of EMS communications. Pinellas County, FL EMS (where I used to work back in 2002-2003) is set up much like Milwaukee County in terms of EMS comms. The MCO (Medical Control Operator) patches the EMS units DIRECTLY to the ED of their choice, versus taking the info and then relaying it. This makes much more sense, as it is a HIGH VOLUME system, and one MCO can not handle all of the traffic even if they wanted to. As for MD consults, that's run a bit differently. If I needed an MD consult, we are patched through to an EMS physician via radio. There is an EMS doc on duty 24/7, each carries an HT with him/her, and they will answer calls as needed. They will do scene response on the rare occassion too. All-in-all, Pinellas County EMS is a high volume, but VERY efficient EMS system.

I'm getting long-winded. Hope this helps!

73-[/QUOTE]



Excellent info!
Checked today in the ambo, and yes, it is 155.340. What I would like to know, how exactly are we expected to use this channel? do we inform them of which hospital we are traveling to along with PT info? or is there a different protocol we are suppose to follow? Can we travel to any hospital in the county and they can relay the info to the proper people? The reason I ask is we do not always have all of the phone numbers to the individual hospitals ed, and if its prefered we contact med base and have them handle the call, then I will let our policy committee know about that for when we travel to Milw. CO

 

[Spankymedic7]

"MED" Unit is short for "Mobile Emergency Department", which they most certainly are not. This is not reserved for the county units, as I worked as an EMT-Paramedic for a private EMS provider (in Milwaukee County) and our ALS units also were referred to as "MED Units".

Part of the problem here is one of nomenclature.

The term "Med unit" refers to a fire department-operated paramedic unit only. The term is not interchangable with BLS and/or private EMS providers.

The paramedic units in Milwaukee County are labled from MED 1 though MED 1x, in the order of their creation, which is why WAFD's paramedic unit is called Med 1.

You are correct that the paramedic units all use MCTRS, but no private EMS providers are on the TRS. They can use the VHF or UHF channels to speak to the hospital while en route.

 

[JT-112]

"...as I worked as an EMT-Paramedic for a private EMS provider (in Milwaukee County) and our ALS units also were referred to as "MED Units".

Did you guys use cells to talk to your medical director/ED? Or was it more protocol-based?

This is something I've been curious about for a while...

 

[ToDaMax]

Private EMS in Milwaukee

Here is a question that I just thought of while on the road. After doing some quick research, I can see that the Private Ambulances Companies that cover the City of Milwaukee (Bell, Paratech, Medicare, and Curtis) have the ability to perform ALS Services. However, when I think about it, when are any of them used for ALS im Milwaukee?

The only time I see them is in the City of Milwaukee, responding to BLS Calls while the Milwaukee MED units respond to ALS calls. I'm always hearing the First Responding Engine Comany talk to dispatch on whether they need a MED unit, or a BLS unit (and they go back and forth during a call somtimes, sending home the MED unit and requestion a BLS unit). For all surrouning suburbs (what i can tell) have thier own ambulances that go to all calls.

It could be that the Private Ambulances aren't used for ALS in Milwaukee but are used in other parts of Wisconsin. I dont know. When does Private Ambulance ALS happen? Is it a backup plan or somthing?